After receiving an affirmative reply from the school, Jin Xue's expression finally eased, but her anger had not subsided.
"The school must be out of its mind to hire a screenwriter as a lecturer for the acting department. Standing on the same platform as an outsider, I can't afford to lose face. If I hadn't been out of work recently, why would I take on such a demeaning job?"
Her agent persuaded her in a soft voice, "Every year, the acting department of University A invites top actors to be lecturers; it's also a kind of honor."
"Hmph, a useless screenwriter, not staying in her proper place but trying to get in the spotlight. Does she think a few trending searches make her famous? Overestimating herself. Since she's ignorant, I'll let her know what true fame is, what a true top star is."
The agent presented the lesson plan, "Then take some time to look at the lesson plan. This was prepared by a professor from the acting department of University A. Based on the lesson plan alone, we'll definitely be miles ahead of that screenwriter."
Jin Xue casually flipped through it a few times before tossing it aside with disinterest. "I've been acting since I was five. Do I still need a broken lesson plan?"
The agent knew her temper and didn't dare to persuade her further, so she picked up the lesson plan to read it herself, in case of any emergency.
...
Time flew by, and it was Monday. As a lecturer, Quan Jiu had specially chosen a long, black and white striped, waist-cinching dress, which made her look both dignified and fashionable, yet youthful. Paired with her smooth, straight hair, she appeared gentle and approachable.
Considering the early start time for classes at the university, Quan Jiu arrived at the acting department's teaching building at eight o'clock.
Yan Chi was testing the projector and microphone to ensure they were working properly when he heard someone at the classroom door ask,
"Excuse me, is the acting department's intensive training classroom here?"
Yan Chi turned his head and saw an extremely beautiful young woman, but she was unfamiliar. He asked curiously, "Yes, it is. Are you an acting student?"
Quan Jiu recognized the voice and stepped forward with a smile to greet him, "You must be Teacher Yan Chi, right? I'm Nine."
Yan Chi was stunned. "Teacher Nine?" So young? This... completely overturned his imagination.
"Thank you for giving me such a rare opportunity," Quan Jiu said politely.
Yan Chi chuckled, "It's our honor to have you. Several of your films are even used as teaching templates in the film department. Come, I'll take you to see our acting department's classroom."
On the way to the tour, Yan Chi apologized, "We had to change the intensive training rules at the last minute. I hope you don't mind."
"It's alright, I'll follow all the school's requirements," Quan Jiu smiled.
They arrived in front of a large classroom. Yan Chi said, "We have two classes in our acting department, a total of eighty students. They will all gather in the large classroom first. You and Jin Xue need to give opening remarks, just a few simple words."
He then led Quan Jiu to a smaller classroom and continued, "Afterward, the students will be randomly divided into two classes, forty students per class. This is the small classroom. Your teaching for the next week will primarily take place here."
Quan Jiu nodded in agreement.
"Good morning, Teacher Yan," a greeting suddenly sounded from behind.
Quan Jiu turned and saw a tall, handsome young man. His phoenix eyes were clear and bright, and his smile exuded a youthful, radiant energy, giving him a warm and innocent purity. His perfectly ironed white shirt added a touch of the dreamy, sunny, and approachable senior from a novel.
He was a natural male lead.
Yan Chi nodded and greeted him, "Good morning, Han Zhao. You're here early."
Han Zhao instinctively glanced at Quan Jiu and smiled, "I came early to get a good seat. I'll head into the classroom first, teachers."
After Han Zhao left, Yan Chi introduced Quan Jiu, "This is our department's student with the best external appearance, Han Zhao. However, although this child is diligent and eager to learn, his grades have always been at the bottom. How should I put it? It's as if God gave him a golden rice bowl but forgot to give him chopsticks."
Quan Jiu smiled slightly, "Without chopsticks, one can still use a spoon. He will have a boundless future."
Yan Chi agreed with this point. "Indeed. Just based on his looks, many agencies want to sign him. Tianyu has approached him several times, but he hasn't agreed. He's about to graduate, and I don't know what he's still hesitating about."
Quan Jiu nodded slowly, her eyes holding a faint smile.
...
At 8:40, the class bell rang, and the students finally arrived, filling the spacious classroom.
However, Yan Chi did not go on stage on time. He was on the phone with Jin Xue's agent, asking when she would arrive.
While waiting, the students chatted amongst themselves.
Tian Cheng, the class monitor of Class A, complained, "Why do we need to split into classes for intensive training? It's already absurd enough to have a screenwriter teach acting, and now we have to split into classes. If we get assigned to Nine's class, we'll be incredibly unlucky."
Gu Cheng laughed, "I'm mainly afraid of it being an eyesore. Online rumors say she's an ugly, fat otaku. I'm wondering if she'll break a chair during class. I'd definitely die laughing."
Yu Zhuang expressed his worry, "We still have to perform after the intensive training. I'm afraid we'll embarrass ourselves in front of the entire school."
Cui Min frowned, "Our grades are so good, we should be able to request not to be split, or at least not to be in Nine's class. It would be a waste of a week, and the teachers wouldn't want that either."
"But I heard it's a random draw," Tian Cheng said worriedly.
Gu Cheng said dismissively, "Why worry about all that? Who here wants to be in Nine's class? When the time comes, we'll all unite and resist, making the school and Nine look bad. By the way, don't the lecturers have to give opening speeches? When she speaks, we'll heckle her and see how she handles it."
Cui Min's eyes lit up, "That's a good idea." She then looked at Tian Cheng and said, "Monitor, send a message in our group chat to inform everyone. We need to be united later. There's strength in numbers."
Tian Cheng thought it made sense, so she opened the class WeChat group and sent a message: [Classmates, if you don't want to be taught by an outsider and don't want to embarrass the whole school after the intensive training, I propose that we all boo Nine when she speaks, and make her leave.]
Replies and responses quickly appeared in the class group. Of course, some agreed, and some disagreed.
Tian Cheng ignored those who disagreed and contacted Han Zhao, the monitor of Class B: [Han Zhao, our class has decided to boo Nine when she speaks. Can you rally your classmates too? We need to form an alliance. A screenwriter teaching acting is misleading students.]
Han Zhao, sitting in the front row, received Tian Cheng's message and couldn't help but get angry, [Don't do this. She's a teacher, she's here to teach us.]
Tian Cheng snorted unhappily, [She should be in the screenwriting department, not the acting department.]
Han Zhao continued to object, [As the monitor, you shouldn't be leading the trouble.]
The two began to argue directly on WeChat.
Meanwhile, Gu Cheng, Yu Zhuang, and Cui Min, while Tian Cheng was messaging Han Zhao, discussed another matter.
Gu Cheng looked at a figure with admiration, "Who is that beautiful girl sitting in the front row? I saw her the moment she came in. She's too beautiful."
Yu Zhuang also exclaimed, "Me too. I thought it was Jin Xue, but upon closer inspection, she's even more beautiful than Jin Xue. Is she a senior from the previous year?"
Cui Min rolled her eyes unhappily, "What's so good about her? That face clearly looks like it's had plastic surgery."
Gu Cheng brushed his bangs aside, "Beauty is beauty, I don't care if it's plastic surgery or natural. I'm telling you, I'm going to ask the beauty for her WeChat later. Yu Zhuang, you can't compete with me."
Yu Zhuang was displeased, "Why? The beauty isn't yours."
Gu Cheng snorted, "Because I'm better than you in every way. The beauty will definitely like me and not you."
Yu Zhuang's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and he immediately dropped the topic.